Condoms, Foot Massagers and Other Things You Didn’t Even Know You Could Buy With the FSA
Flexible spending accounts are crap. These are pre-tax dollars that you put aside in employee benefits, primarily for medical expenses. You can polish co-payments and use them to pay for your deductibles , as well as pay for medicines and other health-related essentials, all without affecting your checking account. The only real catch is that it’s a “use it or lose it” advantage. You must use all the money you have set aside before your grace period expires because it does not carry over to the new year. The good news is that there are many unexpected things you can buy with FSA money. Here are some of the most unexpected ones.
“Fun” things you can buy with your FSA
If you want to have a good time and stay safe without spending as much as possible on a credit card, consider getting an FSA card instead. Here are some of the things you can do for a great weekend, a fun summer, or just an amazing time that you can get with your flexible spending plan:
- condoms
- Birth control
- Sunscreen (with SPF 15 or higher, including moisturizer SPF)
- Pregnancy tests (and prenatal vitamins if they’re worth it)
- Prescription sunglasses (even from expensive brands)
- Travel pillows
- Acne treatment (including light therapy device)
Home and Family Items You Can Buy with the FSA
If you’re more into housework and family time than wild weekend adventures, the FSA money will still have you covered. See what you can get:
- baby monitors
- Baby thermometers
- Breast pumps
- Foot massagers
- heating pads
- Infertility treatment
- Menstruation supplies (tampons, pads and period underwear)
Babies, especially, are expensive, so if you’re looking for ways to feed or care for a baby but are on a really tight budget, check out these surprise things you can also get with food stamps .
Miscellaneous items you can buy with the FSA
You can also take these items, which fit a variety of uses and categories, and pay for them with your flexible spending:
- Bandages
- Solution for contact lenses
- Dentures
- Heart rate monitors
- Healing hand cream
- Prescription contact lenses
- Reading Glasses
Some things like cold medicines, COVID tests, first aid kits, or personal protective equipment (like hand sanitizer or masks) make more sense for FSA coverage than the unexpected items on these lists, but you might not even think about it. to pull out your trusted benefits card when you receive them. Usually in large pharmacies and retail stores, if you see which products are called up on the PIN pad before you pay, you will notice a small “FSA” icon next to things that qualify, but even if you don’t, always ask the cashier if you can swipe the FSA card before paying, just to see if it lowers your overall price.